Sam Warburton started the Six Nations as Wales's captain and a leading contender to lead the Lions in Australia later this year. He will finish it in the title decider against England at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday playing out of position at blindside flanker with the prop Gethin Jenkins leading the side and not thinking about the summer tour.

The Wales interim head coach Rob Howley decided to keep Warburton among the ranks after the flanker's display against Scotland at Murrayfield last week. The wing forward was injured in the opening match of the campaign against Ireland, missed the next round in Paris and was brought back for Italy as a replacement with Ryan Jones captaining the team.

Jones remained as leader in Scotland when Warburton was restored to the starting lineup, but injured his right shoulder, ruling him out of the final weekend. Howley spoke to Warburton about the captaincy before deciding to invest it in Jenkins, who led the side for the fourth time against Italy in last year's Six Nations.

"As a coach you have a gut feeling about a player and given the way Sam played against Scotland, I would rather he just focused on his own game," said Howley. "That is how I saw it and part of this job is about making difficult decisions. I think it is in the best interests of the preparation of the team for the weekend that Gethin is the captain." Jenkins replaces Paul James in the front row for his 98th cap after recovering from a calf strain.

Howley's decision meant that Warburton did not have to attend the team announcement, when he would have been asked about his potential Lions head-to-head with the England captain, Chris Robshaw. The issue appears to be less about leading the team – which Warburton did last Saturday in the 32 minutes Jones was missing without any diminution in his contribution to the team's performance – and more about the pre-match rituals.

"Sam was man of the match against Scotland and we do not want to change that," said Howley. "The way he has taken the decision speaks volumes for him: one of the squad's qualities is the selflessness of the players. It is always about what is best for the team."

Howley said that whether Warburton regained the captaincy next season, when the blindside flanker Dan Lydiate will be fit and Warburton will by vying for the seven jersey with Justin Tipuric, was a matter for the man he was standing in for, Warren Gatland, and the player himself who was not made available to the media, apart from a television interview for broadcast in the build-up to the match and the newspaper he wrote a column for.

The captaincy was not the only issue for Howley. With Wales needing to win by seven or eight points, depending on whether they maintain a better try count than England, would they risk a narrow lead in the closing minutes to go for the score that would see them crowned champions?

"International rugby is about winning the game, and that is what we need to do," he said. "The players have put themselves in a fantastic position after losing the opening game, and they will deserve a beer on Saturday no matter what happens. They know about whether seven or eight points will do, and who knows what the landscape of the game will be in the closing minutes? They have created this opportunity and it is something to look forward to and embrace."